Charges: Man survived being shot at 30 times near International District

Updated 10:57 pm, Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Charges against one of the men connected to a Sunday morning shootout in Seattle say the victim was shot at 30 times while he sat in a car.

Police initially thought 24-year-old Jamal Woods-Hall was pronounced dead after being taken to Harborview Medical Center, but he ultimately survived.

Now 21-year-old Galma Waqo is charged with first-degree attempted murder and remains jailed on $1 million bail.

Police fielded several 911 calls about 3:13 a.m. Aug. 23 for shots fired near Boren Avenue South and South Main Street, on the border between the International and Central districts.

Officers say they found Woods-Hall in a car parked in a hookah bar parking lot. He was lying in the back seat, having suffered several gunshot wounds to his torso and head, probable cause reports say.

Woods-Hall had been in the car with his girlfriend, his girlfriend's sister and another man after they hung out at Skyway Bowl earlier that night, witness accounts indicate. They had arrived at the hookah bar to drop a friend off, the women said.

Upon arrival, the female driver left to use the restroom, but when she returned to the car, she saw three men approach the passenger side of her car, police reports say.

The woman recognized two of the three men, identifying one as Waqo, and said she'd had problems with the men and other associates of theirs in the Holly Park gang, according to the probable cause.

The men reportedly asked the front passenger if he was from Tukwila and he said no. Woods-Hall awoke from a nap in the back seat and claimed he was from Tukwila.

The three men ordered Woods-Hall to get out of the car, reports say -- while the other passengers left the car, Woods-Hall remained in place.

The group of men allegedly yelled, "Holly Park," drew handguns and fired into the car.

Woods-Hall was struck once in the head, once in the neck and multiple times in the torso, the investigation indicates. Medics took him to Harborview Medical Center.

Police recovered more than 30 shell casings and identified two different types of ammunition, indicating two shooters, reports say.

Police tracked down Waqo at his home in the 900 block of Alder Street, setting up a SWAT presence. They ultimately arrested him inside his residence.

While being interviewed by police, Waqo changed his story about his whereabouts and activities several times, ultimately admitting to arguing with a woman at the shooting location (a woman matching the description of one of the witnesses). However, he said someone else fired a gun and he left the scene.

Prosecutors do not believe Waqo has a criminal history, but he has been charged in Seattle Municipal Court with possessing stolen property, forgery and attempted theft. He reportedly has not shown up for a hearing in that case.